Learn Magic from a Master: Javi Benitez Hosts Magic Seminars

Magician Javi Benitez’s first memory of magic was when he was a toddler and saw his father, a civil engineer by trade, doing a card trick. “I can vividly remember, at three years old, the entire presentation and concept of that trick,” said Benitez.

The recent winner of the “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” show began seriously practicing magic at the age of 11. He moved from Seville to Madrid in his early twenties to study under the famous Spanish magician Arturo de Ascanio. “I was in love with Ascanio’s concepts and how he thought about magic.” While in Madrid, he also worked in advertising as an art director.

“I had been going to Madrid by bus, which took about six hours from Seville, to study magic almost every week and meet up with magicians. I couldn’t find anyone in Seville who thought of magic in the same artistic way that I did,” he said.

After ten years in the corporate sector as an art director, Benitez gave up his corporate gig and began performing as a magician. “To me, magic was my career but I didn’t want to be paid to perform until I fully understood the concepts, history and basics of magic.”

Soon after he became a full time magician, he joined other magicians from Spain at The Magic Castle in Hollywood as part of a special week featuring the magic of Spain. Since then he has been a regular at the Magic Castle, where producers at Penn and Teller contacted Benitez requesting a tape of his performance to be considered to appear on their television show.

“Ascanio and Juan Tamariz believed that magic could be more than entertainment, that it is an art form. I don’t like the word ‘trick.’ I prefer ‘juegos de cartas’ because it really is much more than just a trick to fool someone. Magic is an art and a performance. A beautiful and deep way to connect with the soul of people.”

Benitez had an idea to create a symphony with magic with one of the four parts of his magic symphony featuring a story about his mentor Ascanio. It was this act that he performed on “Penn & Teller: Fool Us.” After witnessing Benitez’s performance, Penn Jillette exclaimed, “It is the best sleight of hand that we’ve ever seen. You fooled our asses bad!”

Benitez is back in Los Angeles for another Spanish Week at the Magic Castle, but most Angelinos won’t be able to witness his mesmerizing magic in person because they aren’t members of the exclusive club where you need a special pass to get in. Don’t fret, if you want to see Benitez perform and also learn some magical moves, he is co-hosting, with fellow magician Miguel Angel Gea, a two-day seminar on November 28 and 29 (more info at http://www.javibenitez.com/seminar) and “The Spanish Legacy: Javi Benitez’s Magic,” an afternoon of magic on December 2 (more info at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-spanish-legacy-javi-benitez-s-magic-afternoon-tickets-39535697335?aff=es2).